Tag: Didnt

  • I didn’t think I needed the help or advice, but a new literacy teaching coach from afar gave me the self-confidence I lacked

    I didn’t think I needed the help or advice, but a new literacy teaching coach from afar gave me the self-confidence I lacked

    by Thomas MacCash, The Hechinger Report
    November 24, 2025

    I was the only guy in my education classes at Missouri State University, and until this year I was the only male out of nearly 100 teachers in my school. My approach to teaching is very different, and more often than not was met with a raised brow rather than a listening ear.  

    I teach kindergarten, and there are so few men in early childhood education that visitors to my classroom tend to treat me like a unicorn. They put me in a box of how I am “supposed” to be as a male in education without knowing the details of my approach to teaching.  

    As a result, I’d grown skeptical about receiving outside help. When someone new came into my classroom to provide unsolicited “support,” my immediate thought was always, “OK, great, what are they going to cook up? What are they trying to sell me?” I’d previously had former high school administrators come into my classroom to offer support, but they didn’t have experience with the curriculum I used or with kindergarten. The guidance was well-intentioned, but not relevant. 

    Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.  

    My entire view of getting help and support changed when Ashley Broadnax, a literacy coach from New Orleans, nearly 700 miles away, came into my class in St. James, Missouri, population 3,900. Ashley works for The New Teacher Project, or TNTP, a nonprofit aiming to increase students’ economic and social mobility. Once a month for a full academic year, she came in to help us transition to a “science of reading” approach, as part of a special pilot program, the Rural Schools Early Literacy Collaborative. 

    I never thought I would love having a literacy coach and their feedback, but I now believe it is something that can work for many teachers. I hope that as Missouri and other states transition to new ways of teaching reading, more coaches will be available for others who could use the support. The state says that over 15,000 teachers may get trained in the science of reading to help build our knowledge of how children learn to read and what type of instruction is most effective.  

    Ashley had used the curriculum herself and was on hand to provide timely support. This was the first time I received relevant feedback from a former teacher who had firsthand experience with the lessons I was leading.  

    It completely changed my approach and my students’ learning. Although I come from a family of teachers — my mom, grandma and brother all taught — I had started teaching two weeks out of college, and I wasn’t familiar with the new reading curriculum and didn’t have a lot of self-confidence. 

    When Ashley came in for the very first visit, I knew working with her was going to be different. Even though she had never been to St. James, she was sensitive to the rural context where I’ve spent all my life. We’re 90 minutes southwest of St. Louis and a little over an hour southeast of Jefferson City, the state capital. In St. James, you may see a person on a horse riding past a Tesla a few times a year. I’ve seen this world of extremes play out in school open houses and in the learning gaps that exist in my kindergarten classroom.  

    Ashley had researched our community and was open to learning more about our nuances and teaching styles. She was also the first coach I’d met who actually had taught kindergarten, so she knew what worked and what didn’t. As a young teacher with a significant number of students with special needs, I really appreciated this.  

    Related: How coaches for teachers could improve reading instruction, close early academic gaps 

    Ashley provided me with a pathway to follow the new curriculum while also maintaining my unique approach to teaching. Everything came from a place of ensuring that teachers have what they need to be successful, rather than an “I know better than you do” attitude. She would let me know “I loved how you did this” and she’d ask, “Can you extend it in this way?” or tell me, “This was great, here’s how you can structure it a bit further.” 

    Not everything she did to help was profound. But her little tips added up. For example, the curriculum we used came with 10 workbooks for each student as well as stacks of literature, and I needed help integrating it into my lessons.  

    I soon noticed a shift in my ability to teach. I was learning specific ways to help students who were on the cusp of catching on, along with those who weren’t getting it at all.  

    Throughout the course of the year, we saw how our students were more quickly achieving proficiency in English language arts. In my school, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the percentage of kindergartners reading on grade level went from 82 percent in the fall to 98 percent in the spring; the percentage of first graders on grade level went from 41 percent to 84 percent.  

    There were similar gains across the other schools in my county participating in the pilot program; one school had all of its kindergarten and first grade students demonstrate growth on reading assessments. Those students, on average, made gains that were more than double typical annual growth, TNTP found. 

    I attribute a great deal of this progress to the support from Ashley and her peers. I know I am a better educator and teacher for my students. Her support has made a change for the better in my grade and classroom. 

    Thomas MacCash is a kindergarten teacher at Lucy Wortham James Elementary in St. James, Missouri.  

    Contact the opinion editor at [email protected].  

    This story about literacy teaching coaches was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.

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  • Total NSF, NIH Funding Didn’t Plunge in Fiscal 2025

    Total NSF, NIH Funding Didn’t Plunge in Fiscal 2025

    An analysis found that NSF grant funding remained about level in the recently ended fiscal year.

    The National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health doled out about as much total grant funding in the recently ended fiscal year as they did the year before, despite the Trump administration’s “unprecedented” earlier slowdown of federal science funding, Science reported Wednesday.

    According to the journal’s analysis, “NSF committed approximately $8.17 billion to grants, fellowships, and other funding mechanisms in the 2025 fiscal year”—which ended Sept. 30—“about the same as in 2024.” It found that NIH spending also remained level.

    But both federal research funding agencies still reduced the number of new grants they awarded, Science reported. It wrote that NSF funded about 8,800 new research project grants, down from 11,000 in 2024, adding that an anonymous NSF staffer said this “was one of several changes designed to reduce the agency’s future financial obligations, in case Trump’s proposed budget cut is realized.” The analysis also found that the agency reduced from 2,600 to 1,100 “the number of new continuing grants, and ‘forward funded’ a number of existing continuing grants.”

    NSF declined to confirm or deny Science’s figures. NIH spokespeople didn’t return Inside Higher Ed’s requests for comment Thursday.

    Congress has yet to decide how much to fund NSF in the current fiscal year; most of the federal government is currently funded by a continuing resolution that expires Jan. 30, and the government could shut down again if lawmakers don’t pass appropriations bills by then. But Republicans from both chambers have indicated they don’t plan to cut $5 billion from NSF, as Trump has requested; in July, Senate appropriators put forth a cut of only $16 million, while the suggestion in the House was to slash the NSF budget by $2 billion.

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  • ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’: Is student activism dead?

    ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’: Is student activism dead?

    Welcome back to the HEPI blog. Our apologies if you have missed your daily dose of higher education policy debate being delivered to your inbox, but we have been busy working on something new. Following our recent HEPI survey, we were thrilled that in addition to readers using HEPI to stay up to date with the latest in higher education policy, over 70% of our readership use HEPI’s research as an evidence and information base. Many colleagues also draw on this to inform strategic planning, develop good practice, or influence governmental and regulatory policy. As such, we have revamped the HEPI website, making it easier for you to find the trusted, evidence-based research we provide. You can now explore our reports, blogs and events by policy area and use the improved search function to find everything you need. We encourage you to visit the new site, and in the spirit of enthusiastic debate, to let us know what you think.

    Today’s blog was authored by Darcie Jones, former Vice President of Education at the University of Plymouth Students’ Union and current HEPI Intern.

    We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel, a karaoke classic. But most importantly a 40-year list of crises and cultural touch points, many of which still present in 2025. The tale of generational fatigue led me to think about the role students play in inheriting challenges they didn’t ignite but are trying to fight. As a sabbatical officer, I often heard ‘our students aren’t activists or political’, suggesting a view of apathy towards student activism. So is student activism dead, or does it need a new lens?

    Public perception of student activism often falls within a stereotype: paint throwing, glued to the M5, and generally privileged. In some ways that isn’t false, those activists do exist. Iconic movements such as climate strikes and large-scale encampments often dominate the narrative. It takes activists like these to stand-up, utilise their privilege and be radical to create public discourse. However, such dramatic imagery can cultivate scepticism: are students genuinely passionate or merely troublemakers? Maybe it is possible they can be both.

    HEPIs report ‘There was nothing to do but take action’: The encampments protesting for Palestine and the response to them, documented ‘one of the most intensive periods of student protest since the Vietnam War.’ These encampments, born of frustration, helplessness and digital outrage, illustrated a moment when activism was unmistakably alive and visible on campuses. However, what happens to student activism when ‘radical activists’ take a break?

    What if student activism isn’t always headline worthy? What if it thrives quietly in the pages of student newspapers, or in the safe spaces built by student communities? Reframing of student activism recognises that while it can be revolutionary, student activism can also be impactful and behind the scenes.

    From investigative features on sector issues such as tuition fee hikes, to institutional procedural failures, student journalism shines a light where mainstream media may not. Written by (sometimes faceless) students, hard-hitting features highlight the feelings amongst the student community and utilises media presence to create institutional discourse and influence policy – all without having to leave their bedrooms. The importance of student newspapers in amplifying the voice of students on local or global issues can be seen sector wide, with The Tab, originally established at the University of Cambridge, now spanning across 29 UK universities.

    Community-led student spaces are an overlooked driver of cultural change. Student societies and support groups for those from marginalised backgrounds, such as LGBTQ+ societies, offer more than community. They lobby for inclusive institutional policies, host educational events and shape campus cultures from within. These groups offer a safe space for students to form authentic communities without marginalisation, in itself being a form of activism for students from certain cultures. Student groups show that impactful campaigning can be done with accessibility in mind, empowering silenced voices to speak up in ways that suit their needs.

    This is just a small example of the methods in which students portray activism within student communities. Overall, arguing that students ‘are not political’ erases all that students do to challenge political climates. Choosing to attend work over lectures, creating a student-led community larder to counteract student poverty, attending a pride parade – these are all political choices. This perspective broadens the activism spectrum: it is not just about visible spectacle – it is about sustained effort, relationship-building, and structural change in all forms.

    Moreover, it challenges the notion that activism is solely reactive. Instead, activism can be proactive and constructive, laying the groundwork for safer, more inclusive and better-informed environments.

    Therefore, student activism is not dead. It remains alive and evolving. Yes, fiery protests make headlines and are important to enact urgent change. But equally important are the quieter forms of resistance: the written word, shared personal experience, safe and inclusive spaces built one meeting at a time.

    Just as the fire ‘was always burning’, student activism continues – whether lighting bonfires or quietly tending embers in the corners of campus. Let’s not dismiss it when it is not loudly visible; instead, let’s recognise and foster it wherever it thrives.

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  • 1 in 2 graduates say their college major didn’t prepare them for today’s market

    1 in 2 graduates say their college major didn’t prepare them for today’s market

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    As today’s college graduates struggle to start a steady career, 1 in 2 Americans say their college major didn’t prepare them for the job market, according to a June 18 report from Preply.

    Beyond that, 1 in 6 Americans who went to college said they regret it. When thinking about their college experience, college graduates said their top regrets included taking out student loans, not networking more and not doing internships.

    “One of the main concepts of seeking higher education after high school is that college will prepare you for the rest of your life. While some graduates leave their alma mater feeling prepared to enter the workforce and begin their career, others feel underprepared,” according to the report.

    In a survey of more than 1,700 Americans with an undergraduate degree, 29% said they wished they picked a different major, and 18% said they regretted the institution they attended.

    College graduates said they felt unprepared in numerous ways, especially finding a job after graduation and navigating student debt and personal finances. 

    Americans also said they don’t feel college gave them real-world work experience, practical or technical skills or a professional network. In fact, only 5% reported feeling “adequately prepared” for life and the workplace.

    On the other side of the hiring table, more than half of hiring managers say recent graduates appear to be unprepared for the workforce, and 1 in 6 say they’re reluctant to hire them, according to a report from Resume.org. Their top complaints included excessive phone use, a lack of professionalism and poor time management skills.

    Within the workplace, executives and workers alike say entry-level workers seem unprepared for their jobs, particularly compared to five years ago, according to a General Assembly report. Although leaders said workers don’t have enough training to be hired, employers also don’t offer adequate training, the report found.

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  • Judge Rules Drake Didn’t Defame Des Moines Community College

    Judge Rules Drake Didn’t Defame Des Moines Community College

    A federal judge recently dismissed claims that Drake University defamed Des Moines Area Community College, the latest development in a fraught trademark battle between the two institutions, the Des Moines Register reported.

    Their ongoing legal dispute, which began last summer, is over the letter “D.”

    Drake University sued the community college after it changed its logo to a simple, block-style “D.” The university has used a “D” as its logo for decades and argued the similar branding creates confusion.

    U.S. Chief District Judge Stephanie Rose concluded in November that Drake was likely to prevail, given the logos’ similar color schemes and other details, and issued a preliminary injunction that the community college stop using the new logo. The order led to two pending appeals, one from the community college to reverse the preliminary injunction and one from Drake asserting the ruling didn’t include some older logos. The community college achieved some wins in February when Rose determined DMACC tried in “good faith” to change the logo and Drake should put more money toward helping the college switch the logo if Drake ultimately wins the case.

    Meanwhile, counterclaims from DMACC accused Drake of defamation. The college dropped those claims after Drake asked the court to dismiss them but then brought defamation claims against the university again on behalf of the Des Moines Area Community College Foundation after Drake sent out an email about the case to its alumni in July.

    Rose wrote on Friday that the foundation took “giant interpretive leaps from the content of the email” such that the defamation claims were “untenable.”

    “While zealous advocacy is expected, counsel must ground their pleadings in reasonable factual and legal interpretations,” she chided.

    Drake President Marty Martin said in an email statement to The Des Moines Register that he was pleased by the outcome. But DMACC shows little sign of giving up.

    “DMACC and the DMACC Foundation continue to believe that Drake does not own the letter ‘D’ and the scope of Drake’s rights are now the subject of appeal,” spokesperson Dan Ryan said in a statement.

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